Remember
by Wearefarners
Summary: Instead of Sam's mom dying when she was young, she lived. Her mom and dad get a divorce and she and Sam move in with Aunt Sue, taking Blackie with them. The accident didn't happen. But now they are back. (Jake and Sam are the same age).
1. Chapter 1

"Jake, I have something to tell you," said thirteen-year-old Samantha Forster. They were sitting on some boulders while their horses rested from the race that had just happened. Jake had won, but she would never admit that, not with what had to tell him. He didn't respond, but then again, he's not much of a talker. She knew what look would be on his face anyway. It would be one saying "ok, what is it?"

"My mom and I are leaving. And I don't know if we'll be back." This time she looked at him. Her best and oldest friend, Jacob Ely, was sitting completely still. This wasn't his normal stillness where he just sat and took everything, it was a stillness of shock.

"What do you mean?"

She paused before answering. This was one of the hardest things she has had to do in her short life. She was having to say goodbye to her best friend.

"My mom found out that my dad was cheating on her. She gave him a choice and he chose the other woman, so it was decided that my mom and I are going to live with my aunt in California while everything is decided. And I don't think that we'll be back."


	2. Chapter 2

_Three years later_

"I heard found out something interesting today," said Maxine Ely at dinner one night. "Do you remember Samantha Forster?"

This caught Jake's attention. It had been three years since he had seen his oldest friend. He looked up at his mom from his food.

"Yeah, what about her?"

"Well her name has been added to my class list."

Maxine could see that her son perked up at this news. She knows that he has been more reserved these last three years, even more than normal. Max knew that Sam leaving had affected him. He became more withdrawn, barely talking to anyone and when he did it was usually only to his family and his few friends. She was pretty sure that Sam was the only girl, other than his family, that Jake cared about.

"Really?"

Jake[A1] couldn't describe the feelings he felt when he heard that. He hadn't seen his oldest friend since the day she moved away. He knew his mom worried about him because once Sam had moved he became even more withdrawn, only talking when he absolutely had to or if he was with Darrell and their friends. He was excited, but also nervous. Although he would never admit it, he was scared to see her. How much had she changed? The big questions on his mind were would she still want to be his friend? And did she still feel the same way she did before she left?


	3. Chapter 3

I'm so sorry to anybody reading this that they have been so short. I'm in the middle of finals right now so when those are done I'm planning on making them so much longer and update on a regular schedule. Please review and tell me what you think!

"Sam, I have something to tell you." Louise Forster looked at her seventeen-year-old daughter. She couldn't get over how much Sam reminded her of her ex-husband, Wyatt. She knew what she had to say was going to be hard on her daughter and she expected Sam to be the most stubborn she has ever been. Louise had to tell her daughter that they were moving back to the one place she vowed to never return to.

"Ok, why do I feel like I'm receiving a death sentence here?" Sam tried to make a joke, but the ghost of a smile that appeared on her mom's face told her that she barely succeeded.

In the three years since they had left Nevada, Sam had turned into a young woman and not the little girl everybody thought she was. Her auburn hair reached down to the middle of her back, she grew into her father's genes for height, and her green eyes acquired more of bite than they had ever had. Of course, she grew in other places, places that guys took notice much to her annoyance.

"Well, you may see it that way once you know. Since we left, I've kept in contact with some people. Once of those people is Mrs. Allan. She decided that she is going to sell her ranch. And I've made her an offer. An offer that she accepted."

"What are you trying to say?"

"Sam, I plan on moving us back to Darton." Louise held her breath, waiting for the outburst she knew was inevitable.

"WHAT? Why would you want to go back there? Especially after what dad did? You want to go back to the place where nightmares happen? A place where you are reminded that he chose someone else over you? Someone who looks exactly like you? He decided to start over without us. We were expendable, something to take up his time until he decided that something better has come along."

"Sam, that's not what happened, and you know it. Yes, he did cheat. But to tell you the truth, it's been a while since we were the happy that we were when we first got married. And besides, don't you miss your friends? Jen? And what about Jake?"

That shut up the words that Sam was saying under her breath. She did miss Jen. And Jake. Jake, the boy that her mother thought she would end up with. Not that she'd ever tell Sam that she thought that. She was pretty sure Mrs. Ely thought that too.

"And what about Blackie. You know he misses being out in the open and not boarded in a stable. I know you don't like it there either. Every time you come home, you mutter about how 'stuck-up those English riding pricks are.' There isn't anywhere for you to ride her in San Francisco besides in a ring. And I know you get bored with that."

Sam knew that all her mother's points were valid, but she can't help but think she had already given up one way of life, and now she was going to be forced to do it again.

"I have friends here too. Why do I have to give up my life again? I can't do this right now. I need time to think."

"Ok, I can understand that you need time. But I need your help packing. We move in a couple weeks. I have already contacted the school in Darton and you are registered to start your senior year there in a month."

"Fine." Sam stormed off towards her room in their house. Once there she looked around. You would never know that she had lived anywhere but San Francisco if it wasn't for her accent and if you stepped into her room. It was the only place that she let the horse crazy part of her run wild. She barley let anybody in there except for her best friend Pam because she understood what it was like to be the new girl from a small town in a big city.

Her room was painted a dark orange color with her bed tucked in an alcove with three walls surrounding it. On those three walls was three different canvases, one per wall. Each canvas had a different image of a horse on it. The one right above her head was a picture of Blackie, who wasn't so much a Blackie anymore. His coat had changed to a silver white color with a mane and tail to match. The one on the left-hand side of her bed next to the window was a multicolored quarter horse. And the one that was at the foot of her bed was one that she had gotten when she was missing her home bad. It was a prancing black horse. You could just see it saying, "I rule this land, and don't you mess with me or you will regret it." She bought this one because it reminded her of Jake's horse, Witch.

Jake. That name brought a sad smile to her face. They were only thirteen when she left and now she was almost seventeen. Three years she was separated from her best friend. The boy she thought would've been her first boyfriend, if he ever got up the nerve to say anything. Thinking about how he was almost her boyfriend had her wondering if he still felt the same way? Does he have a a girlfriend? This though made her laugh. Jake, talking to another girl that wasn't her? He barely spoke when she was there. And she seriously doubted that he had gotten any better at it. He never was one for words. She grabbed her phone. She had to talk to Pam about everything that is happening.

 _Are you doing anything right now?_


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Phantom Stallion characters. Terri Farley does.**

 **Please feel free to review. I welcome all comments.**

After Pam texted back that she currently wasn't doing anything, Sam told her mom that she was heading out. As she was walking out the door she heard her mom to be back by ten-thirty. Since it was only around four on a Saturday, she wasn't going to complain too much. At least not to her mom's face. She walked outside to go grab her bike. She does have her license, but they only had one car and she knew that her mom would need it. Besides, she told herself, it wasn't far enough to Pam's house to need a car.

When she got to her friend's house, she couldn't help but notice that from the outside their houses looked almost the same but with a different paint color. Once inside is where the major differences came into play. Sam's house always kept some of that Westerness that Sam had grown up with. But once is Pam's house it was more modern mixed in with that feeling of lived in, due to there being five people living there.

She leaned her bike on the house and went up to the door and knocked. Her friend answered the door in her shorts and sports bra, meaning that she had just gotten back from a run.

"Hey, Sam. Come in."

She turned around and left the door open for Sam to come through. Once inside they went up to Pam's room. Sam always felt like she was to messy to be there. The carpet was white with a dark hardwood bed against one wall. The sheets and blanket were also white. Against another wall were shelves that held all of the ribbons, medals, and trophies that had been won throughout the years. She was deciding on the best way to tell her best friend that she was moving in a few weeks. The best way, she thought, was to just come out and say it right away.

"I'm moving."

The shocked silence she was met with made her nervous. Sam knew that she freaked out a bit when she found out, but she didn't know how Pam would react.

"What do you mean 'You're moving'?"

"My mom got an offer to buy one of the ranches back home and she decided to buy it. So we are moving back to Nevada in a couple weeks."

"You can't! We were supposed to rule the school together. Why does she want to go back there? After everything your dad did? Wouldn't that just remind her of all the bad memories she has there?"

"She says she misses it there. All the open space and the mustangs." Talking about her home made her miss all of those things. And she was especially missing a certain person.

"Sam. Sam. Hello. Are you here with me?" That snapped back to see a smirk on Pam's face. "What were you thinking about? Would your thoughts happen to be about a certain cowboy?"

Sam had, of course, told Pam about Jake. How they had been friends since they were little. How close they got growing up. And how she felt about him when they had moved away.

"Ok, I can see that you were, but I have a question. What about Ben?"

"What about him?"

"You know he likes you. And I know you liked him a little bit. Maybe not as much as you liked Jake, but you gave him enough attention that he thinks he has a chance with you."

Sam paused for a moment. She didn't realize that had happened. She hadn't felt anything since she moved. And she was a person that went on feelings. If Sam did not feel any kind of romance feelings, no matter the strength, she would not lead that person on. And she did not feel anything in that aspect for her friend.

"Damn. I didn't realize that he felt that way. You and I both know that I haven't really felt anything for anybody since I got here. And now that I'm actually moving back…."

"You need to talk to him about it."

"And say what? 'Hey, I just found out you like me, but I don't like you like that. I have feelings for someone else. Oh, and I'm moving back to where that guy is'?"

"No, but you do need to get those feelings out in the air, so he doesn't feel like you are abandoning him. You guys are friends."

"I know your right. I just don't want to hurt him because as you said, he is my friend. And I don't like hurting my friends."


	5. Chapter 5

I'm sorry for the dely. With finals and the holidays coming up, I forgot to upload the next chapter.

 **Disclaimer** : I do not own any of the Phantom Stallion characters.

Sam left her best friend's house with a troubled mind. She hadn't realized that Ben had felt that way about her. He had been one of the first friends, besides Pam, that Sam had made once she moved here. If Jake hadn't held such a large part of her heart and if Sam hadn't felt that she and Jake still had a chance, then maybe Ben could have been her boyfriend.

"Shit."

All of this boy stuff was getting way to complicated. If she hadn't had to have grown up, then it would've been a time when her parents hadn't got divorced, she would still be living in Nevada, and she would have her friend Jen to talk to about boys. Sam took out her phone, ready to text Ben to see if he was busy, but paused. Did she really want to do this now? How would he handle the news, especially since he apparently liked her? She shook her head.

"I need to cowgirl up and just do it."

 _Hey Ben, are you busy right now? I need to talk to you about something._

 _ **Is everything ok? I can meet you at the coffee shop in about ten minutes?**_

 _That works. I'll see you then._

Sam started walking towards the coffee shop that she and her friends spent a lot of their time at and rubbed her forehead. She was preparing for a massive headache. Sam had always had a hard time reading people's faces, mainly because she grew up with cowboys that don't show

their feelings, but that wasn't the case here. Ben wore his heart on his sleeve. Not that she would ever say it to his face, but he had more mood swings than a female on their period without chocolate. She wasn't looking forward to this.

When she got to the coffee shop she couldn't see Ben, so she ordered her favorite drink: a butterbeer frapachino. This was made with a crème base, three pumps of caramel syrup, three pumps of toffee syrup, and topped with whip cream and a caramel drizzle. She got her drink and went to find a seat. The place was unusually busy for that time of day. Sam sat down and waited for Ben. He showed up looking a little out of breath. He spotted her and went straight to where she was sitting, not even bothering to order a drink. She couldn't help but notice that he looked hopeful. Did he think that she was here to confess her love to him? Sam really hoped that wasn't what he was expecting her to do. But she didn't think that he had any idea of what she was about to say.

"Hey Ben."

"Hey Sam. So, what was it you wanted to talk about?"

Ben was feeling very hopeful that Sam had somehow noticed his feelings for her and felt them for him. He really wanted to take her to the back to school dance that was fast approaching.

"Ben, I have to move back to Nevada. My mom bought some land back home. We leave in a few weeks."

He could feel his world falling apart. Sam was not only his crush, but one of his best friends. He knew about Jake from where she used to live. He had overheard Pam and Sam talking about him when she had first moved here. He knew how much she had liked Jake and how long it took her to feel that maybe she should move on from those feelings. And now, Ben knew that once she was back there he would never get another chance at a relationship with Sam.

"Ben. Ben. BEN! Are you still here with me?"

"Will you go out with me?"

This question shocked Sam. Sure she knew that Ben liked her, but he had never acted on those feelings. And now she felt awkward because she didn't feel that way about him and Sam did not want to lose him as a friend. She also didn't want to go out with him on a pity date, that would only hurt him more.

"Ben…"

He just stared at her with that hopeful look on his face. Sam could easily tell that he did not see her rejection coming and that scared her. How would he act?


	6. Chapter 6

"I….I can't Ben. I still have feelings for Jake. You know that. And with me moving back there soon….."

"What?" How could she say no? Why would she give this guy she hasn't seen in three years a chance but not him?

"A-also, I never thought of you than more than a friend. I'm sorry if I ever led you to believe I had any other feelings than friendship."

Sam waited for Ben to say something. When he hadn't said anything for a couple of minutes, she started to feel nervous.

"Um…..Ben?"

He finally snapped out of his shock. How could she just lead him on for the past three years and say that she didn't mean to? He snorted. Of course, she thought that she didn't mean to lead him on. All girls are the same.

"You are all the same. Pretending not to notice when someone likes them and only think of them as a friend. I'm tired of it!"

"Excuse you? I never asked for you to like me when I showed no interest in you. I can't help the fact that I still like Jake." With that Sam stood up and left.

When she got home she texted Pam.

 ** _Well that was a great idea._**

 **** ** _What happened?_**

 **** ** _He asked me out and when I said no and told him that I only thought of him as a friend he freaked out and basically called me fake._**

 **** ** _He did what? Tell me exactly what he said._**

 **** ** _He said that I was the same as other? Whatever that means. And I pretended not to know that he's liked me all this time._**

 **** ** _What._**

 **** ** _Yeah, I guess if you're friends with a guy you either have to date them or else be called fake. Anyways, I should probably start packing. Ill talk to you tomorrow._**

 **** ** _Have fun.  
No promises._**

 ****Sam laid back onto her bed with her hands covering her palms. When did having a guy as a friend become so complicated? With Ben she never thought it was going to get complicated like this. She never had a plan to be more than friends with him. But she never had any plans to being more than friends with Jake…until she started having the more-than-friends' feelings for him. Thinking about those made her think that it wouldn't be to long until she saw him again.

Did he have a girlfriend? At that thought she laughed. Jake have a girlfriend? He barely liked talking to people that weren't his family. And that included her.


End file.
